Waimea Canyon

Waimea Canyon

No trip to Kauai is complete without a visit to Waimea Canyon, on the west side of the island. Known as “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” Waimea (pronounced why-may-ah) Canyon is a beautiful 45 minute drive away from Poipu Kapili Resort. The sheer size and beauty is always a surprise to new visitors, even if they’ve seen photos.

Here are some photos of Waimea Canyon. More details and driving directions are below the photos.

The most popular way to see the Canyon is to take one road up, and a different one down. The road up is a winding road where you see trees and hills, and then turn a corner to see incredible views, over and over. The road down is more straight and steep, with views off both sides.

To go up – take Highway 50 west towards Waimea. Continue past Waimea Town into Kekaha (pronounced cake-aha). Turn right on 552 (Alae Road). Continue past a park and elementary school on the left to the intersection of Alae Road and Kekaha Road. Continue through the intersection and you’ll be on Kokee (pronouned koe-kay-ay) Road (55). You’ll pass a shopping center on the left. Take this road 7 miles then bear left onto Waimea Canyon Drive to continue to the top. There are several places to stop and look.

To go back down the “other” way – as you come back down and get to the intersection of Waimea Canyon Drive and Kokee Road, bear left onto Waimea Canyon Drive. Continue down to Waimea Town.